Indiana Jones and the Quest of the Hidden Gold
by Ms. Historian
Summary: Indiana Jones is back and this time he's on the search for a stash of Ican gold. He runs into Natives that plan on having a BBQ but who will feel the heat?
1. Prologue

  


Indiana Jones and the Quest of the Hidden Gold

  


Written June 2002-

  


  


  


Prologue

  


A slim, dark blond young woman with snapping blue eyes sat at a wooden table in her one roomed thatch roofed hut. She stopped writing and glanced at the clock ticking beside her. _Where are they?_ She wondered impatiently. She pushed back her chair and paced the length of the room a few times. _It's long past time for them to be back, what could be keeping them? I know,_ she thought,_ I'll go ask Cran-Chee if he will send out a search party._ She took a quick look in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. One did want to look one's best when going to see the chief of a tribe. After patting her hair in a few places she went out the door and started along the path that led to the center of the village. 

  


She and her father and one his coullegs had been here for almost three weeks now and everything was going great. All of the natives had excepted Jesus Christ as their savior and now wanted her father to teach them more about this man from Galilee. 

  


The report that they had sent back a few days ago to the Mission Agency had been dripping with news of this or that person being baptized and how sure he was now that God _had_ sent him to these people to help them.

  


As she came to the entrance of Chief Cran-Chee's hut she was stopped by the Chief's guards. She explained to them that she needed to see the Chief about finding her father since he had been gone since first light and had supposed to have been back a long time ago. One of the huge men nodded and replied that he would tell the Chief that she wished to speak with him. 

  


While the man was gone the other guards starred at her. She was used to the village people staring at her since she was a different color than them and wore different clothes but this time they seemed to be staring in a different way. Like they knew something about her that even she didn't know. 

  


Just then the guard came back and motioned for her to follow him into the hut. As she entered the dark hut a foul stench reached her noise and she had to keep herself from reaching up to cover her nose, as this would have been rude.

  


She bowed before the Chief who was sitting on his throne which was made of sticks with the bark shaved off and decorated with jewels and feathers. He had a stern expression on his face but he spoke rather kindly, for a tribal chief that is.

  


"God-man's daughter want to speak with Chief Cran-Chee?" By "God-man's" he meant her father, the missionary.

  


"Yes. My father and Mr. Dillard were due back hours ago and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sending out a search party to look for them." The Chief considered this then an evil smile spread across his face. He pointed behind her and all but shouted:

  


"There they be!"

  


She whirled around but didn't see her father or Mr. Dillard. Suddenly she noticed that on either side of the doorway were two skulls grinning at her from their perch on two sticks. She gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. Then she whipped around to face the Chief again. Many images were running through her mind. Had her father and his friend been attacked by and animal? No, surely not. Their heads would not be on sticks if that had happened. Had another tribe killed them then done this so that the heads were like trophies? Yes, that had to be it!

  


"What tribe did this? Where were they found? Oh, please tell me!" She was shaking but she tried to control herself. The chief leaned forward in his chair. 

  


"We be tribe that done!" He said. She almost fell over in surprise horror.

  


"What? But... but why? Jesus, would not like such things!"

  


"We no like Jesus! I be god! I be god of the Allries!"

  


"But I thought that you'd given your lives to Jesus! All of you! Why did you pretend to love God and then do this?"

  


"We need sacrifice. Two God-men make good sacrifice. The fire god like them. And you be next."

  


She stood frozen for less than a second then she looked wildly around for a way to escape. There was none. She ran toward the door but it was blocked by two guards. She ran to the side of the hut and started to kick the wall down but the two guards came over and stopped her. Each one took a hold of by her upper arms then dragged her back to stand in front of Cran-Chee. She tried kicking them but they had metal leggings on their shines so the didn't feel a thing. Cran-Chee smiled.

  


"Good spirit. Make good sacrifice to fire god! Take her to the waiting place." 

  


"NO!" She cried, but they dragged her, kicking and screaming between them toward a black hut at the other side of the village. 

  


Unknown to her and everyone else, the whole scene was being watched by someone who was hiding in the bushes.

  



	2. Chapter One: The Legend

Chapter One

  


A young professor stood in front of his attentive class and explained how the Egyptian empire had fallen to the Romans after Alexander the great had defeated the Egyptian army and then built Alexandria.

  


The class was made up mostly of young women but there were a few young men there too. The young women were all leaning their elbows on their desks, their eyes following every move the professor made. 

  


He fiddled with his glasses a moment then continued his speech. 

  


"As the Roman empire increased its power it also adopted some of the Egyptian ways. For example, they started their own kind of mummy making. They weren't as obsessed as the Egyptians about how well the body was preserved though. They were more interested in the wrappings. The Romans wrapped their dead in long strips of cloth and while they wrapped they made diamonds and many other geometrical shapes..." The professor stopped a moment. The class looked like it wasn't paying that much attention to him. He saw that most of the girls were staring at him but not hearing what he was saying and the ones who weren't staring were passing notes. The boys on the other hand, looked almost asleep. He glanced at the clock and decided to let them out early, besides he had things to do.

  


"Class? Class?" He finally got everyone's attention then continued. "I'm going to let you out early today," The boys all started to rise and pick up their notes. "Wait a minute, I'm not through yet. I want everyone to remember the paper that is supposed to be on my desk Monday. All right?" Everyone but the most entranced girls nodded. "Okay, now you can go." He stared sorting the papers on his desk as the students filled past him. After a while he looked up to make sure he was alone. He was. Then he went to the door and peeked out into the hall. It was empty.

  


He closed the door then went to his desk and opened the middle top drawer. After pulling it out all the way he checked the door once more then went back to the desk. He reached way back into the cavity where the drawer had been and pried at the board that was supposedly the front of the desk. It popped out and after placing it on the desk he reached in again and this time drew out a bundle wrapped in newspaper. 

  


He unwrapped the bulky object and laid the newspaper on his desk. In his hands he held a magnificent golden plate. The rim was decorated with raised designs in gold and in the middle was an etching of the sun.

  


As he turned it over and over in his hands while examining it the story of its discovery ran through his mind.

A few years ago a group of men went into the Andes mountains on a camping trip. They soon discovered that there was a cave in the side of one of the mountains. After looking at it and going in a few hundred feet they concluded that it was a tunnel that must run for miles. They decided that they should take all of their gear and try to find the tunnel's end.

  


A few weeks later during a mass held at the Temple of the Sun that was built by the ancient Incas, priests that were trying to convert the nearby villagers were startled to hear a pounding that seemed to come from under the floor tiles. At first all were scared that the noise was made by something divine, then curiosity took over as the pounding continued. One of the priests and a few of the people pried up the tile that the sound seemed to come from under. 

  


As the dust settled a man shouted to them to help him out. The agreed. A hand came through the opening and in it was the very plate that the professor was holding now.

  


The man was very excited when he came out of the hole. He was talking about treasure and how he was the only one left of his camping expedition. Everyone got excited but after the man was taken to a hospital he was declared crazy and everyone wrote of his story as the ravings of a mad man. Almost everyone that is.

  


The government closed up the opening that the campers had found so that no one else could wonder in there accidentally and get lost as the poor man had. They also put the tile back in place at the temple and now no one knew which tile the man had come out of. Everyone except the priest who had opened it. The professor figured that he was probably dead by now though. He had been at least 95 when all of this had happened. That was sad because now there was no way to...

  
"Indy!" The professor jumped as a man in a suit with graying hair slapped him on the back. "That's a nice looking piece there. Is that the one you wanted to show me?"

  


"Marcus! Don't do that! I could have dropped this and then years of tracing people and searching the black market would have been lost!"

  


"Sorry Indy. I thought you heard me come in." Indy waved it off.

  


"Never mind. Anyway, yes this is the piece." Marcus took it from him and looked it over. 

  


"It looks real enough. The designs match a lot of others that have been found on other Inca objects."

  


"That's what I thought." They stood there is silence, both looking at the golden dish. "Do you think it can be found Marcus?"

  


"What?"

  


"The treasure? The one the man said that he got this from." He waved the plate in front of Marcus's face. Marcus looked skeptical.

"I really don't think so Indy. That was a long time ago..."

  


"I know," Indy interrupted, "but if it is true then it would be a simple matter to go to the temple, find the right tile and then follow the path that's down there."

  


"How do you know there's a path?"

  


"There's got to be. That man got to the temple from an opening that was hundreds of miles away. And think Marcus! Think what kind of objects could be down there. Take this for instance," He held up the plate, "think of this times, times hundreds! Your museum would be the envy of every museum in the world with a collection like that!"

  


"Yes, it would..." Marcus said thoughtfully. Suddenly his attention snapped back to Indy. "Wait a minute, how would I get these things unless I sent someone after them? I know what your trying to do Indy." Indy just grinned. "You want me to sponsor this crazy adventure when all that might be down there is dust."

  


"Gold dust." Indy said his eyes sparkling.

  


"Indy stop it, that's ridicules."

  


"Is it?"

  


"Yes, perfectly."

  


"C'mon Marcus. Have I ever let you down before?"

  


"Lets see, there was that time you went after those 'Magic Eyeballs' from that statue in India. Then there was that 'rare' book that as it turned out was already in every library on America. And lets not forget the Ark of the Covenant."

  


"Hey, I found that one! Its not my fault the government stepped in."

  


"Yes, well still..."

  


"Marcus, Please! I know I can do it." Marcus looked at him a moment then smiled.

  


"All right, old chum. I'll see what I can round up."

  


"Thanks Marcus. I knew I could count on you." Suddenly they heard a noise by the open window. "What was that?" Indy asked. Marcus shrugged and Indy ran to the window to look out. On the lawn people were strolling around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He shrugged and turned back to Marcus so they could continue discussing the arrangements for Indy's upcoming adventure.


	3. Chapter Two: The Trap

Disclaimer: None of the Indiana Jones characters are mine such as Indiana Jones, Marcus Broody or any other characters that may come along. So don't sue me or anything. 

  


Chapter Two

  


Indy stood at the dock and tapped his booted foot. The boat was already 15 minutes late and he was getting impatient. 

  


Marcus had found some money somewhere and now Indy was on his way to India to get some information about the priest who knew which tile the tunnel was under. One of the priest's relatives lived in India and Indy wanted to ask him if the priest was still living. It would have been less expensive to write a letter but Indy didn't want to wait that long so he bought a ticket and was now waiting for the boat. For the millionth time he turned and glanced at the clock that was nailed above the ticket office. It read 5:34 pm. It was starting to get dark and a little foggy, Indy pulled his hat down lower over his eyes as it started to drizzle. 

  


He was about ready to go back to the ticket office and get his ticket refunded when he heard the boat's whistle. The long low sound almost scared him half to death because it sounded right in front of him. He hadn't seen the boat pull in because of the fog.

  


He picked up his suitcase and made his way past a crowd of disembarking passengers to the boarding ramp. When he reached the top a man in a blue uniform asked for his ticket. Indy gave it to him and was shown to a cabin that was nicely furnished with an oak bed frame, matching bedside table and dresser. The mattress was covered in a burgundy and navy blue silk spread that matched the curtains on the small porthole. 

  


Indy set his bag by the dresser, took his hat off and flung his leather jacket on the bed. He flung him self on top of that and went to sleep.

  


In a few hours Indy awoke to the noise of someone knocking on his door. He got up and went to open it. Outside was a steward who told him that dinner was to be served in a few moments. Indy thanked him and followed him to the dinning room. He was surprised to find that he was the first passenger there. 

  


He took a seat at a corner table where he could watch the other guests as they came in. After a few minutes a waiter came to his table and gave him a menu.

  


"Say friend," Indy addressed the waiter," were is everybody?" The man looked nervous and shrugged then hurried back to the kitchen. Indy figured he was either foreign and hadn't understood a thing he said or the guy was new on the job. Either way Indy still wanted to know why he was the only person dining.

  


He looked at the menu and decided to have soup and a sandwich but the waiter still hadn't come back to take his order. After waiting awhile he got up and went over to the kitchen door. Just before he pushed it open he heard voices that stopped him.

  


"I don't want to go out there. He's a big man, I don't want to get killed if he finds out!"

  


"You're to paranoid, he's not gonna kill you! You're just a waiter."

"But..... but what if..." 

  


"Just get out there!"

  


"No!"

  


"_I'll_ kill you if you don't!"

  


"All right! All right! I'll go,don't hurt me!" Indy moved aside just as the waiter came out the door and headed toward Andy's vacated table. He stopped when he saw the table was empty and turned around with a smile of relief on his face but it quickly turned to terror as he saw Indy who was pointing a gun at him. 

  


Indy signaled him to be quiet and then waved his gun toward the door. The waiter inched his way to the door and Indy followed with the gun trained on the waiter. 

  


When they were in the hall Indy told the man to stand against the wall. He complied and since the gun was still pointed at him he answered Andy's questions.

  


"What are you afraid that I'll find out? What's so big that you're afraid I'll kill you about it?" Indy asked at he lounged against the opposite wall.

  


"I..., I...., I.... donnnnn't..." Indy got up close and shoved the man up the wall.

  


"Answer me." He growled between his teeth. The gun was right at the man's left temple and he trembled in fear.

  


"I can't tell you sir, they kill me if I do."

  


"And I'll kill you if you don't. Decide, do yea want to die now or later?"

  


"L... l.... later." The waiter stuttered.

  


"Then start talkin'!" Indy demanded.

  


"Okay! I'm afraid that you will find out you are the only passenger."

  


"Why am I the only passenger?" 

  


"Because the boss said that you had to be the only passenger so no one would see or hear."

  


"See what man? What!"

  


"You die." Suddenly there was a muffled noise and the waiter slumped in Andy's grasp.

  


"That could have been you Dr. Jones." Indy turned to see a man standing at the end of the hall with a gun that had a silencer on it in his hand. "I didn't have to miss."

  


"Then what'd you kill him for and not me?" Indy let the body of the waiter drop to the floor.

  


"He talks to much and that bothers me." The man smiled. "Let me introduce myself. I am Patrick Shannon, and I'm here to kill you."

  



	4. Chapter Three: Fire

  


Chapter Three

  


"Then why am I not dead?" Indy asked.

  


"Eh, such a brave man you are Dr. Jones. Most men don't want to die quicker than they have to."

  


"Well, this conversation is boring, I'm tired of it." In his mind Indy silently cursed himself for leaving his whip in his bag. He had his gun but so did Shannon. 

  


"Okay, lets start if you are tired of talking." 

  


"Start what?"

  


"The Hunt. I will give you ten minutes to find a place and a way to protect your self and then I will find you and kill you."

  


"You're sick."

  


"No, Dr., no. I just enjoy a good game. If you want to know, your time starts..... now." Indy stood there a moment, all kinds of thoughts swirling in his head. He started toward Shannon but Shannon raised his gun.  
  
"I won't let you kill me. So if you come at me now and try I will kill you and you won't even have a chance." Indy looked Shannon right in the eye.

  


"I hope you're use to disappointment because this is one game you aren't gonna win." With that he spun around and ran down the hall. He looked around and chose a door that said "Employs Only". It lead down a flight of stairs then into a hall that had a least twenty doors leading from it. He quickly picked a door and rushed into a pitch dark room. There wasn't a switch or anything by the door and since Indy was pressed for time he didn't stay to find one. 

  


He ducked into the hall again and chose another door. This one opened onto the deck of the ship. In front of him was twenty feet and a railing, to the left was a hatch. 

  


He went to the hatch and after sticking his gun into his belt he pulled up the top. Inside was another set of steps. These looked like they went all the way to the bottom of the ship.

  


He took a quick look around then ducked in and closed the top behind him. There wasn't a latch on he inside so he just hurried on. He followed the stairs for a long time. _Time must almost be up._ He thought. Soon after a bit he came to a huge door that was made of iron. He pulled it open and went inside. 

  


Here was the middle of the ship. The engine room. There were dozens, if not hundreds of places to hide and wait for Shannon, then shoot him when he wasn't looking. 

  


Indy closed the iron door behind himself and set about looking for an advantage point. He found a good spot when he looked up. Steam pipes, water pipes and who-knew-what-else-pipes were everywhere, crisscrossing the ceiling. 

  


He looked around and found a piece of rope then threw it up over a sturdy looking pipe and shimmied his way up. He pulled the rope up after him and set in on a network of pipes nearby.

  


Now that he was out of sight he started to make his plan. 

  


When Shannon walked in he would wait until he was under him then he would drop the rope over his head, tighten it and pull it up, therefore hanging him. Indy didn't really want to hang anyone but hey, this guy was after him with a gun, it was only self-defense.

  


Suddenly the door started creaking open. Indy started tying the slip knot in his rope. Shannon came through the door and looked around warily. He jerked his gun in several directions when he thought he heard a noise, Indy could tell the man was nervous.

  


Shannon started circling the room looking for Indy. As he passed right under Indy, Indy let the rope down and it went neatly over Shannon's head and landed around his neck. Just before Indy pulled Shannon dropped his gun, reached up and grabbed the rope and gave it a yank. Indy came flying from the ceiling and landed in a pile of old bags. 

  


He quickly jumped to his feet and ducked as Shannon threw a punch at him. The rope wasn't around his neck anymore and he quickly grabbed his gun from the floor and leveled at Indy's head.

  


"Don't move Jones!" He shouted. Indy wasn't about to listen. He rushed up to the stunned man and kicked the gun out of his hand. While Shannon was holding his hurt fingers that had just been kicked backward Indy punched him in the gut and he tumbled over.

  


He was up again quickly and this time he had a knife. Indy jumped backward and sucked in his stomach as a reflex when Shannon tried to slice the knife right through him.

  


While Shannon was still off balance from the missed swing Indy punched him again then wrestled the knife out of his grasp.

  


As both men fell to the floor trying to get the knife Shannon kicked over a barrel and its liquid contents spilled to the floor and started creeping about the room.

  


Suddenly there was a jolt as if the ship had hit something. The engine made a earsplitting noise then started erupting sparks like a volcano. The liquid on the floor seeped right under the engine and started catching the falling sparks. Soon almost the whole floor was on fire.

  


Both men leapt up from the floor and ran to a spot empty of fire. "Great!" Indy yelled. "That was gasoline you spilled, you jerk!"

  


"If I must die while eliminating you, then so be it." Shannon said standing tall and proud.

  


"You can stick around if you want but I don't plan on staying." With that Indy ran to the iron door and swung it open.


	5. Chapter Four: The Island

  


Chapter Four

  


He raced up the staircase and flung open the door that lead to the deck. The sea was a little rough but he'd rather handle that than fire. 

  


He ran back to his room and grabbed his jacket, whip and gun. He stuck the whip and gun into his jacket then zipped it up. After jamming his hat down further on his head the went back to the deck.

  


Suddenly he was pushed from behind and he flew out over the deck toward the railing. As he sailed over it he grabbed a hold of it and hung, suspended over the open water. 

  


He looked up at see Shannon smiling down at him.

  


"It seems as if I will have the pleasure of disposing of you after all." He said. With that he brought the butt of his gun down on Indy's tortured knuckles. 

  


Indy suppressed a yell and tried to hold on tighter. Shannon hit him two more times and finally Indy had to let go, his bones seemed to be beaten to dust.

  


As he fell away from the deck the ship suddenly blew up. He threw his arms over his head for protection and started swimming away as soon as he hit the water. The only problem was that there was nothing to swim to. The ocean was empty of any human life, at least that's what he thought until he brushed against the body of the waiter.

  


He kept swimming until he came to a piece of board. He draped himself over it and stayed that way a long time. Somewhere in there he fell asleep.

  


* * *

  


When Indy opened his eyes it was day time and the sun was reflecting rather harshly off of the water. The water! He looked around wildly then remembered what had happened.

  


He yawned and then made a closer inspection of his surroundings. He was surprised to see an island a little to his left and behind him. _Anything is better than paddling around out here._ He thought. So he started toward it. When he pulled himself onto the beach and stood up he was amazed to find that his gun and whip were still in his coat. The gun wouldn't work od course, but it would once the powder dried out.

  


He took off his hat and emptied out the water them stuck it back on his head. 

  


After sticking the gun in it's holster and clipping the whip to his belt he took off the jacket and slung it over his shoulder then started down the beach as if on a leisurely stroll.

  


A little ways on he rounded a corner and saw a man with a cloth wrapped around his waist doing something in a boat. Indy decided to creep up on him in case he wasn't the friendly sort. 

  


As he got closer he saw that what the man was doing was trying to light a fuse. _I wonder why he want's to blow up a good boat. I could use that boat to get off this island._ And with that thought in mind he snuck up behind the man and said quietly: "Excuse me sir, may I have your boat if you don't want it?"

  


The native whirled around and would have sent Indy overboard if Indy hadn't tripped him first. The man got up again and went after Indy who had now moved to the explosives and after laying is coat on a seat, was starting to disconnect the wires.

  


Indy saw the man coming out of the corner of his eye and was ready when he came at him. Indy jumped out of the way and the man went past him. He grabbed the back of the man and knocked him in the head with this gun then tossed him out onto the sand.

  


Indy was just about to start the motor when the beating of many drums seized his attention. They sounded as if they were coming from the center of the island. He struggled with the decision of going to see what was going on and getting back to civilization. Finally his sense of adventure won and he jumped out of the boat and stated toward the sound of the drums.

  


He pushed through bunches of under brush and soon came to a clearing or rather a village. He hid behind the bushes and watched as the villagers beat their drums.

  


Suddenly a cry pierced the air. "No!" A female voice shouted and to his surprised what looked like an American woman, a beautiful American woman, was dragged out of the center hut and taken to a smaller hut that was painted black. 

  


Once she was shoved inside two guards were posted at the door. He could hear her yelling and trying to knock the door down from inside. He watched and a few moments later two older women came to the black hut and were admitted by the guards.

  



	6. Chapter Five: Sacrificed

  


Chapter Five

  


In the middle of her attempts to knock the door out the guards came in and one of them held her as two older women entered her prison. One of them carried a woven basket that was heaped with tropical flowers. The other one had a piece of white cloth draped over her arm.

  


As soon as the women had entered the guard let go of her and went back to his post. One of the women started setting things to rights around the room. The other one went to the American girl and started to unbutton her shirt . 

  


"Excuse me!" She shouted, re-buttoning every button. "But what do you think you're doing?" 

  


"We must prepare you for the ceremony." The woman said. The girl trembled and thought fast. _Oh, God!_ She pleaded, _please help me! If I must die, please make it painless. _She fought a tear the was threatening to roll down her check. _Please send someone to help me!_

  


"All right." She said to the woman, "I'll go along with all of this but _I_ will dress _myself_." The woman nodded.

  


The girl slipped out of her shirt and skirt and dawned the white dress. She couldn't deny that it was beautiful. The fabric was softly gathered at each shoulder so that the dress was a tank top. The skirt was sort of a wrap around that tied at her left hip and then left an open slit from her knee to the ground.

  


The other woman came over with different kinds of flowers that were varied colors of blue stung on a string. These she tied around the girls waist like a belt. 

  


Next they took the beret out of her hair and parted it on the side then stuck a blue flower with a yellow middle behind her right ear. They seemed to think her finished because they opened the door and slipped away.

  


_Well,_ She thought,_ at least they let me keep my sandals._

  


* * *

  


Indy watched the women leave the hut and wondered about their captive. How had she gotten here? Why was she alone? What were they doing to her? Or going to do. His last question was answered when the two guards were motioned by a dressed up man to get the girl.

  


When she emerged from the hut Indy caught his breath. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, she had been a looker going into the hut even in her hysterical state but now... with her hair on her shoulders and her blue eyes staring ahead peacefully, for even in his distance from her he could see her eyes were a brilliant blue. He noticed the blue flowers and white dress also and knew exactly what they were doing with her for blue was the color of sacrifice.

  


For some reason unknown to him a protectiveness rose up in his chest and he had to restrain himself from jumping up and shooting every native man in sight. His arm quivered as he touched is gun, wishing that the powder was dry.

  


* * *

  


The girl looked straight ahead as the guards lead her down a path that they had before told her and her father was a dead end. She found out why when they rounded a bend in the path. Everywhere were idols, big and little, tall and short, cute and terrifying. 

  


The one they took her to had a stone head carved so that it looked like a demon laughing at her. She shivered then prayed. _Father God, I know that these are just stone images but you gave me an imagination and right now it's having a hay day! Please help me._

  


* * *

  


Indy had followed at a distance and now looked on as they tied the girl to an ugly stone statue. The rope wound around her middle a couple times, squashing the beautiful flowers around her slim waist, then it tied in the back with her hands tied separately behind her. 

  


His heart nearly broke as he caught sight of a signal tear that ran from the corner of her right eye and trickled down and ran off her chin. _One, only one._ He thought to himself. He waited to see if more would come but they didn't. Just the one did she shed. 

  


The natives set about to pounding their drums again and Indy would have dashed in with his gun blasting right then had the powder been dry. 

  


Soon they commenced to dane in a large circle around her, singing their heathen songs to their god of fire. 

  


He noticed that each one carried something in their hand. He soon found out what they were for, for as each person passed the fired they tossed in their item and danced on until the fired was taller than a man. 

  


* * *

  


The heat from the fire was starting to hurt her face but the girl could do nothing about it so she just continued to pray. She could fell the peace of God around her and was calmed.

  


She fingered the three little rocks the natives had placed in her hands before tying them. One was smooth, one was square and one was a sharp arrowhead. _They must be part of the ceremony_. She thought. Suddenly her heart leapt for joy. This was the escape God had sent her! Pagan charms! She dropped the other two rocks and started sawing at her ropes with the arrowhead. It was quite awkward because she could use only one hand. To her horror she suddenly dropped it. _Oh, no. _She thought. _Now what am I supposed to do?_

  



End file.
